Town hall goes back in time for TV fame

IT'S dull 1970s concrete faï¿½ade may not be to everyone's liking, but the appearance of Stockport town hall wowed producers of a hit BBC 1 series. IT'S dull 1970s concrete faï¿½ade may not be to everyone's liking, but the appearance of Stockport town hall wowed producers of a hit BBC 1 series.

IT'S dull 1970s concrete faï¿½ade may not be to everyone's liking, but the appearance of Stockport town hall wowed producers of a hit BBC 1 series.

The exterior of the building may look like it's from a bygone era, but it was just what the makers of the eight-part police drama, Life On Mars, were looking for.

The Stopford House building was transformed into a police station for the show, which has won rave reviews.

The series, set in 1973, stars John Simm as a detective from 2006 who is hit by a car. When he comes to, he finds it's 1973. He doesn't know if he's really gone back in time or is still in a coma.

It was filmed mainly in and around Manchester and relies on endless supplies of 1970s locations and props, which were not easy to find.

A spokesman for Stockport council said: "Stockport town centre has a very wide range of interesting buildings, ranging from the historic medieval Staircase House, to modern landmarks such as The Pyramid, built in the late 1980s.

"We were pleased to be approached by the production company filming Life On Mars who were keen to use the 1970s architecture of Stopford House for their programme.

Transformed

"The building ideally suited their purposes."

While the town hall building was transformed into a base for police officers it was students from Tameside who helped to put them on the road.

The group from Tameside College faced a race against time to transform a MK1 Ford Escort into a police panda car in just three weeks.

The students carried out extensive bodywork on the car, restoring and repainting it before it was "oven-baked".

To make sure it looked authentic they then added vinyl graphics and a police siren.

Lecturer Dave Taylor said all the students were excited about the project and love watching their handiwork on TV.

The cars featured in the series have been described as an unexpected hit.